


Call It Exploring

by WalkingFan



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, M/M, Prostate Massage, experimenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2018-07-26 19:49:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7587556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WalkingFan/pseuds/WalkingFan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rick and Daryl walk in on an unexpected sight only to find themselves more curious than they'd expected. Will they give into curiosity?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! It's been soooo long since I've posted anything and I've had this one sitting on my computer for months now waiting to be finished. It won't be super long but I thought I'd just have some fun with my favorite men. I hope you enjoy and thanks to everyone who's left me kudos on my other story, A Fresh Start. It just reached over 700 kudos and I couldn't be any more thrilled!

“Shit, man. M’sorry. Didn’t think that fucker was gonna explode on us…”

“Nah. It’s okay. You didn’t know,” Rick reassured the shame faced hunter that strolled by his side as they made their way back into the prison. “Least we got showers now, right?” Rick added and he gave Daryl a small smile with a pat on the shoulder. 

Daryl snorted and his eyes lightened a little. “Yea, I guess.” 

They’d been clearing the fence line together, stabbing heads and working their way through a buildup that’d shown overnight, when Daryl stabbed a particularly nasty walker. This guy had been a bigger man when he’d been alive and perhaps because of the humid Georgia air his dead body had swelled and as soon as Daryl punctured him, walker brains and viscera had spewed forth and showered both him and Rick. 

Any other time and they might’ve struggled through, kept at it and just wiped off at the end of the day. It was the apocalypse after all and the smell of death surrounded them at every moment. But now they’d managed to set up showers in the prison and the smell of the rot that currently covered them was even too much for Daryl, who gagged as he tried to use the hem of his shirt to wipe off the worst of it from his face. 

Rick had managed to hold back on the gagging but when he looked down and saw brain remnants trailing down his arms, he knew he couldn’t stay like that. Thankfully Tyreese had seen the whole thing and ran over, grabbing their fence weapons and shooing them off to go get clean. It was still early, barely mid-day, and Rick hated to take a break when everyone else was busy working. 

There was always plenty to do and as they walked inside the dark confines that they’d come to call home, everything was eerily quiet. People were busy outside making sure that everyone had clean clothes, plenty to eat, watching for trouble, or out gathering supplies. Today was a rare day that Rick and Daryl cleared the fences but it was a nasty job and they felt like they needed to share the burden just as much as anyone else. 

Both men silently made their way to the cellblock and grabbed their towels from their respective cells before heading towards the showers. They tried to keep contact with anything to a minimum so they weren’t spreading around the nastiness that coated their bodies. Rick held his arms out and grimaced any time he looked down. He couldn’t wait to strip his sticky shirt off. 

Daryl didn’t seem too phased now that he’d gotten control of his gagging and the only sound they could hear was the light clip of their boots scuffing the concrete floor beneath them. Finally, they got to the doorway that led to the showers and as they rounded the corner Rick could only think about how amazing that water was going to feel on his face. 

That was until he and Daryl were stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing that the showers were currently occupied. Well, more like the bench in the shower room was occupied. By a naked Glenn and a fully clothed Maggie. 

Glenn was laid back on the long wooden bench, his legs straddling either side with his feet on the floor. His arms were thrown back, fingers almost white with how tight a grip he had on the hard surface behind his head. Maggie sat comfortably between his spread thighs and Rick took a big gulp as he took in the sight in front of him. 

She had her left hand stroking up and down the swollen erection that sprouted straight up from Glenn’s hips. Occasionally Glenn would thrust up into her hand as he groaned with his head thrown back and eyes squeezed tightly closed. Rick also couldn’t help but notice that Maggie’s right hand was partially hidden as it was slipped underneath Glenn’s body, her arm drawing back and pushing forward in a slow motion. 

“Oh, fuck…Maggie…” Glenn cried out and she smiled wickedly as she picked up the pace of jerking him off. Her hand glided over his shiny cock easily and Rick figured he must be slicked up with something. 

“You gonna come for me?” she egged. “Come on. I wanna see it, Glenn.” Just as she finished saying his name, she glanced up and noticed that they had an audience. Her grin turned down to a frown and Rick could see conflicting emotions cross her face. 

“Oh, god…don’t stop…don’t stop…” Glenn whimpered and Maggie’s eyes darted back down to the task at hand. 

Rick finally tore his eyes away and looked to Daryl. He wore what was sure to be the same expression Rick had, one of embarrassment and yet mild intrigue. Rick turned his body and put a hand on Daryl’s shoulder, an indication for them to go, and Daryl gave him a brief nod of agreement. 

As they were about to leave, an absolute guttural moan echoed against the tiles surrounding them and both men couldn’t help but turn back to look. Glenn’s body was practically arching off the bench beneath him and Maggie twisted her fist around the head of his cock while her arm curved even more beneath him, the thrusting motion now replaced with a circular rotation. Half a second later and Glenn’s cock spurted a milky fluid, spilling down onto Maggie’s hand and wrist. 

“Fuck, Maggie…FUCK!” The sound of Glenn’s cries were so loud that Rick was surprised no one heard it outside, but Maggie seemed to be eating it up. Her annoyance at being interrupted seemed to disappear because now her face sported the most satisfied smile Rick had ever seen her wear. 

Before Rick’s brain could even register anything, he felt a heavy hand tug on his arm and he was pulled out of the bathroom. With raised eyebrows, he looked over at Daryl whose gaze was firmly downcast, focusing on their fast footsteps that led back outside. Making it to the rainwater collector they’d set up out by their makeshift kitchen, Daryl popped the lid off and dunked his towel to get it wet. 

Rick followed suit and a full five minutes went by without either one of them speaking. They cleaned their faces and pulled their shirts off before wiping down their torsos and arms, eventually taking cups of water and pouring it over their heads to wash out anything that’d made it into their hair. Rick grabbed a clean towel from the clothesline and used it to dry off before handing it over to Daryl who did the same. 

“Well…that was…” Rick mumbled as he ran his hands through his slightly dripping curls, trailing off because he didn’t know what to say. 

“Yea…” was all of Daryl’s response, his voice low and gravelly as he refused to make eye contact. Rick couldn’t help but notice a pink blush building on the hunter’s chest and crawling up his neck. 

Both men walked over and sat at a table, intermittently munching on some deer jerky that’d been left out as a snack. Rick wanted to go inside and get a fresh shirt but he was quite frankly scared shitless of running into Maggie and what she might say to him. Daryl seemed to have the same thought because he didn’t make a move either. 

Carol walked by and eyed them closely, glancing at the pile of dirty shirts and towels by the rainwater barrel. “Decided against showers and clean shirts then?”

“Let’s jus’ say the showers were taken…” Daryl mumbled out of the corner of his mouth. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, looking at his fiddling hands before he started chewing on a thumbnail.

“Alright…well, you better not have dirtied up my rainwater. We need that for dishes. And you boys know where to put your laundry.” She gave them a pointed look and Daryl rolled his eyes before waving her off. 

At the mention of the showers, Rick felt like he was going to burst at the seams if they didn’t at least talk about it. “Sure didn’t expect to see that today,” Rick said as casually as he could before nodding towards the prison. 

Daryl glanced at him briefly, his eyes squinting in the light of the sun while his mouth curved around his thumbnail. He grunted in acknowledgement before leaning back and crossing his arms, hands tucked high under his biceps. 

Rick almost rolled his eyes. He knew Daryl was a man of few words but sometimes it made him crazy. They’d just seen some of their closest friends doing a highly intimate sexual act and Daryl just wanted to shrug it off and forget it. Rick briefly wondered why he didn’t feel the same. Why did he want to talk about it so bad instead of deleting the whole thing from his brain? 

Instead of looking further into that line of introspection, Rick decided to bring up the thing that was intriguing him the most. “So…was she…uh…” Rick tried to figure out how to formulate his question. Daryl looked over at him and raised an expectant eyebrow. “Did she…uh…did it look like she had…” 

“Finger in his ass?”

“Yea!” Rick sighed, relieved that he wasn’t the only one to have noticed and that he didn’t have to say the actual words either. 

Daryl huffed out a tiny laugh, the corner of his mouth turning slightly upwards before he shrugged his shoulders. “Certainly looked that way.”

“It did…” Rick agreed, running a hand across the scruff growing in along his jawline. “Think that might be what surprised me the most.”

Daryl nodded at Rick’s confession before going back to his thumbnail, his usual nervous habit. “You and me both,” he managed to say over the digit. 

“I didn’t…um…I didn’t think straight guys were into stuff like that…” Rick’s words were practically whispered and he made sure to look anywhere but Daryl as he said them. He made sure to lean back and stretch his legs out in front of him in a pose of nonchalance when he finished. 

A few moments of silence passed between them and Rick was wondering if Daryl was going to say anything at all. “I’unno…” the man next to him finally piped up. “Don’t really see how somethin’ like that can feel good.”

“I guess. I mean, I’ve heard of it. There’s something called a prostate. Just don’t know what it is exactly or how it’s supposed to work.”

Daryl glanced Rick’s way and Rick felt himself turn a bright red. He certainly didn’t wake up this morning expecting to have this kind of conversation with his closest companion. He couldn’t bring himself to meet the hunter’s eyes for some reason but he felt Daryl give him an inquisitive stare. 

Before Rick could backtrack, Daryl nodded towards the prison entryway. Out stepped Maggie with a now fully clothed Glenn and they both walked towards the guard towers, presumably to take over watch. “Guess we can go in now,” and Daryl hopped up. 

Rick sent up a silent thank you for getting him out of such an awkward conversation and quickly followed Daryl inside. Only later did he realize they’d left their laundry on the ground when Carol gave them the scolding of a lifetime at the dinner table.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days later, everyone sat around the tables inside the prison chatting quietly while they ate breakfast. Rick bounced Judith on his lap as he gave her a bottle, occasionally taking a bite of the oatmeal he kept a safe distance away from the grabby hands of his daughter. Daryl sat next him, carefully cleaning his crossbow since he’d already finished eating. Every so often he’d reach over and grab Judith’s tiny little fist, giving it a good shake to the make the baby smile.

A couple minutes went by and as people started to clear out to start their morning chores, Maggie went by all the tables and gathered dishes for washing. Usually she’d give Judith a kiss on the cheek as she worked, but ever since Rick and Daryl had walked in on her and Glenn, things had become a little cold between them.

Maggie had a temper on her and the two men knew it so they’d taken every opportunity to avoid her, lest she unleash her wrath upon them. At first, Rick thought he was being a little unreasonable but then he noticed that she’d been ignoring them just as much and Rick realized that maybe she was just as embarrassed as they were.

Either way, they were willing to give her the space she needed to cool down and let things return to normal. Rick and Daryl hadn’t spoken about it since that day, only sharing the occasional knowing look when Maggie would walk by them in a huff or when Glenn would talk to them. Glenn had mentioned the shower cleanliness yesterday morning at breakfast and both Rick and Daryl had to hide smirks that threatened to spread across their faces. Maggie had noticed though and given them mean looks the rest of the day.  

Rick was currently wondering how long her icy treatment towards them was going to last when Daryl’s words broke through his thoughts. “Know what we was talkin’ about the other day?” The shaggy haired man had his eyes focused on the bolt he was currently cleaning but his eyes darted towards Rick where he was met with a furrowed brow. “After Glenn and Maggie…when we was sitting at the table outside?”

Rick finally understood what he was hinting at and he nodded quickly, all the while trying to keep his eyebrows from climbing halfway up his forehead in surprise. He never expected Daryl to bring this up again. He bounced Judy a little faster as he waited for Daryl to keep going.

“Might’ve…Mmm…” Daryl bit his lip nervously and looked around cautiously at the near empty room. When he figured they were about as alone as they could be, he sighed and put his hands flat on the table. Rick could feel the hunter’s leg jiggling wildly next to his own and he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Daryl so worked up. “I might’ve gave it a shot…in the shower this morning.”

“Oh,” was all Rick could think to say as Daryl’s words sank in. Daryl had tried to finger his ass in the shower this morning and Rick couldn’t exactly explain why his mind was trying to put together a detailed image of that.

After a few seconds, Daryl’s eyes whipped over to Rick and he gave him one of his incredibly rare, vulnerable expressions. Daryl hardly ever opened up about stuff like this and Rick didn’t want him to think he was judging him. “So, how was it then?”

He watched as the hunter visibly relaxed when he realized Rick wasn’t going to run from him in disgust. He shrugged his broad shoulders and went back to the cleaning the bolt that he’d sat down between them. “Dunno. Different, I guess. Nothin’ mind blowing, I’d say. Don’t see much point.”

“Yea,” Rick agreed. He looked down at his daughter that he held in his arms and she ran her tiny fingers over his scratchy face as he spoke his next words. “I tried it too.”

Before he even glanced up, he heard the rush of Daryl exhaling a small laugh and when he did finally look over, he saw amusement all over the hunter’s face. “Yea?”

Rick nodded and felt all the blood rush to his face. “Yep. Last night in my cell. It was…like you said, different but nothing amazing.” Rick’s curiosity had gotten the better of him as he laid down last night, thinking about what it could feel like. So he slipped his boxers off and did some exploring. He’d gotten up to the second knuckle on his index finger before he decided to call it quits because it just didn’t feel right. He’d chalked it up as a learning experience and figured that was that, but he never in a million years thought he’d be swapping ass fingering stories with Daryl at the breakfast table.

“Maybe we ain’t doin’ it right or something. ‘Cause Glenn sure looked like he was enjoying himself.”

Rick chuckled but he had to agree. Glenn definitely seemed like he was loving every second of what Maggie was doing to him, and for once in his life Rick wished he had more sexual experience than he did. He used to be grateful that Lori was the only woman he’d been with. They’d found a routine and stuck to it and Rick had been happy with that. But now that she was gone, Rick had been feeling awful lonely and so had his dick. Jerking off almost wasn’t cutting it anymore. “Maybe we should just ask Maggie.”

Daryl scoffed at the mere suggestion and rolled his eyes. “Don’t know ‘bout you, but I ain’t planning on losing my nuts today.”

Rick tossed his head back and wholeheartedly laughed. In the process, he’d put a halt to bouncing Judith and within moments she started to fuss. Only a fews seconds in and Rick could sense a crying fit about to come on. Judith was just getting over a summer cold and hadn’t gotten back to her normal sleeping routine yet, making for a cranky baby.

Turning her around to rest her face on his shoulder, he did his best to soothe her by rubbing her back. She almost seemed like she was going to settle down but she must’ve changed her mind because a second later she started wailing. Rick turned his body to get up from the table and walk her around a little when Maggie strolled up with a bucket of clean dishes.

She took one look at how Rick was struggling, sighed, and came closer. Plopping the bucket down hard enough to make the dishes rattle, she brushed her brown locks from her face before holding her arms out to Rick. “Give her here.”

Maggie used that clipped tone that told Rick he knew better than to question her. Even though Beth was usually the one to take care of Judith, Maggie had taken her fair share of turns and Judith took to both Greene girls in no time. Handing her over, Maggie wrapped Judith up in her arms and walked in small circles around the table, giving the infant constant, steady pats on the butt.

Within ten seconds, Judith had calmed down and Maggie wiped away the tears that’d spilled down the baby’s flushed cheeks. “There, now. All better aren’t we?” Maggie cooed before giving Judith a few kisses on the forehead. “I haven’t gotten to see you lately, have I? No, you’re daddy and uncle Daryl have been acting pretty silly, huh? Yes, they have. Walking in on a private moment and then avoiding me like the plague. Ain’t that right?”

Breaking her smiling face away from the baby in her arms, Maggie looked up and gave both men a pointed look. Shame flooded Rick’s face and out of the corner of his eye he could see Daryl wearing a similar expression. Realizing now was the time to get this all out in the open, Rick took a deep breath and started. “Look, Maggie. We’re real, real sorry about walking in on you and Glenn. We didn’t know y’all were in there-”

“And then staying for about ten seconds too long? And what about all the smirks and stuff y’all been doing around Glenn? ‘Cause I didn’t tell him and he doesn’t need to know. It would only embarrass him and probably give him some kind of complex. He’d never look you guys in the eye again.”

“Sorry for all that…” Daryl added on sheepishly. “We ain’t gonna say nothin’ and we’ll stop with the looks. Really didn’t mean for none of that to happen. Just bad timing, s’all.”

Maggie’s face finally softened at Daryl’s words of regret and she gave them a brief nod. “It’s alright, I guess. We should’ve known better than to do anything in the showers anyways. But it was mid-day and everyone was outside working…and having the showers close by does make for easier clean-up.” She smiled guiltily before turning her gaze back down to Judith who’d started sucking on her thumb.

Looking over at Daryl, Rick figured this might be their only chance to ever ask Maggie about this and Rick really was curious about what him and Daryl were doing wrong. Plus, she was holding Judy so it’s not like she could hurt them for asking, at least Rick hoped that was case. “Hey, uh…we were wondering something though. Probably the reason we stayed too long. It looked like you were…uh…doing some stuff…some thangs to Glenn.”

Maggie’s brow knitted together as she listened to Rick and when he finished her confused expression still rested on her face. Looking over to Daryl, she gave him a slow shake of her head to show that still didn’t understand.

Daryl rolled his eyes and tipped his head back to sigh, running fingers over his eyes as if he couldn’t quite believe he was about to say this. “His ass. You was doin’ stuff back there. Wants to know what you were doin’.”

“Hey! I’m not the only interested party here…” Rick grumbled with a cross of his arms.

Maggie sucked in a deep breath as her eyes widened and her entire body turned bright red. Utter embarrassment radiated from her entire being and she turned around to let out a groan that echoed around the big common area. Whipping back around, she exhaled slowly and tipped her head to the side. “Y’all aren’t really asking me about fingering Glenn’s ass are you?”


	3. Chapter 3

“Wait...so it’s where?” 

Maggie sighed and almost rolled her eyes. Rocking Judith in her arms, she whipped her head to the side to fling some hair out of her face before giving Daryl a pointed look at his question. “I told you. The inner wall. You just crook your finger like this,” and then she extended her right arm and curled her pointer finger upwards. 

Daryl’s face contorted into a mixed look of distaste and yet vague interest. He looked down at his own hand and his finger gave an involuntary twitch to mimic Maggie’s. “But...ain’t all that…” and the hunter trailed off. 

“What?” Maggie bit at him, raising her eyebrows in a dare to say something offensive. 

“Uh, I think what Daryl’s trying to say, without hurting any feelings, is...isn’t that...er...we kind of thought only gay guys did that kind of thing…” Rick’s words petered off towards the end and he raised his shoulders sheepishly. He gave a half smile to show that he really meant no offense and turned to look at Daryl who gave a brief nod of his head to show that he was with Rick on this one. 

Maggie looked down at the baby starting to nod off in her arms. “You hear that, Judy? Your daddy and uncle Daryl have no clue, huh? Probably only ever done it in a bed too. Their sex lives must be so bor-”

“Aw, c’mon. We’re asking, aren’t we?” Rick said indignantly. He knew he wasn’t as worldly as some when it came to sex but he wasn’t completely oblivious either. He wasn’t sure about Daryl, but he was genuinely curious to hear a little more on this topic, if only to broaden his knowledge. 

“Fine,” Maggie said in a clipped tone. Stepping forward, she handed a dozing Judith back to Rick. There was a tense second where the baby threatened to wake up, but she decided to settle into Rick’s arms instead and all the adults let out the breath they’d been holding. 

“No, it’s not gay. Plenty of straight guys do it. All men have prostates so why would only gay men enjoy having them played with?” 

She stood with her hands on her hips in front of the two men and waited patiently. As her words sank in, Rick realized she was totally right. Looking over at Daryl, he saw the realization dawn on him as well. Their eyes met briefly and they shrugged in agreement. Then Daryl turned his face back to Maggie and his face morphed into an expression that one could only describe as uncomfortable. 

“But...ain’t it kinda...messy?” he mumbled quickly. His eyes darted downward immediately and his right hand shot to the side of his mouth, thumbnail finding it’s way in between his teeth. 

Rick had to admit that was something that was in the back of his mind as well. That wasn’t exactly the cleanest of areas to be doing those things in so he figured the payoff must really be worth it. 

“Oh jeez…” Maggie sighed. She rubbed briefly at her temples before pointing to Judith. “You change her diapers right?” Rick realized she was mostly talking to him but Daryl had changed a few of Judy’s diapers too, so both men gave her a quick nod. “Well, if you get some of her poop on your hand, you don’t run away screaming. You just wash it off and go on with your day. And if you just time things right, you don’t have anything to worry about.”

“Makes sense,” Rick nodded. Daryl still didn’t seem too convinced sitting next to him but the hunter’s expression seemed far less skeptical than it had before. 

“Are we done yet?” Maggie picked up her bucket full of dishes and turned to walk away. 

“Yea, I think that covers it,” Rick said. 

“Wait...so if it s’where you say it is, how you s’pose to reach it and how you know if you found it?” Daryl piped up unexpectedly.  

Maggie whirled her head around to give them a knowing smile. “Usually, it’s easier to find if you have someone else helping you out. And trust me, you’ll know it once you find it.” She gave a brief chuckle before finally walking away, leaving both men blushing for reasons they couldn’t really explain.

* * *

The next week flew by quickly. A section of the fence was threatening to give way so a run for supplies had to be quickly executed and most of everyone’s time and energy had been focused on that. Rick rarely found any time alone but when he did, he couldn’t help but give some of Maggie’s tips a try. 

Unfortunately, he didn’t seem have to any luck. In the shower, the water kept washing away most of the spit of he was using to help ease the way and the resulting resistance was a less than stellar feeling. In his cell the next night, things seemed to go a little easier but he just couldn’t get his finger to angle right. 

He tried on his back with his legs up, turned on his side with his arm twisting in any angle he could get it in and then finally on his knees. Nothing seemed to be working in his favor and he was quickly getting frustrated. 

With a sigh, he turned his head left and saw that his infant daughter had woken up and was peering up at him from her makeshift crib. Rick just knew that she was wondering what her foolish father was doing totally naked and on all fours on that tiny cell cot. 

Well, maybe she wasn’t wondering exactly that but Rick sure felt foolish enough to think the look she was giving him was one of total bewilderment. Pulling his boxers back on, he made quick work of cleaning his hands and scooping Judith up into his arms. 

As he started to rock her back and forth, Rick’s mind started to formulate a solution to his problem. “Maybe Daddy needs some help…” Rick whispered quietly and Judith gurgled a little laugh as she tossed her hands in the air.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day was blistering hot and Rick wiped a handkerchief across his sweat soaked face in between the digs of his shovel into the hard prison ground. Building a garden for their ever growing group of survivors was starting to become more work than he had anticipated. 

Daryl and Glenn were working just as hard next to him, one digging and one marking out the beds as they went. After a minute, Glenn went to grab a drink of water and saw that their supply was empty. “Oh, man. We’re out…” he sighed. Looking up at the bright sun that beat down on them, he squinted his eyes before turning back to Rick and Daryl. “Go for refills?”

Daryl merely nodded as he kept at his shoveling but Rick halted his movements. Burying the edge of his shovel in the dirt, he pulled off his work gloves and leaned against the handle standing upright in front of him. “Would you see if Carol is willing to spare a fruit cup or something? That oatmeal from this morning is long gone.” 

Glenn’s face split in two, his head bobbing yes quicker than Rick would have expected. Then he was off, making quick work of his travels across the prison yard. Rick guessed he wasn’t the only one that had a growling stomach. 

Turning back to his shovel, Rick looked down as his hands and felt his mouth form into a frown. They were starting to blister even with the gloves and this day was only getting hotter. He needed a break. Cutting his gaze over to Daryl, the hunter didn’t even seem to be slowing down. 

That was one of things Rick loved about his right hand man. If you gave him a task, he didn’t stop until it was finished. But today was one of those days that Rick was going to have to interrupt the hunter’s concentration. “Take a break?” he called out, his voice only loud enough to cross over the ten feet that separated them. 

Daryl paused for a second to shoot Rick a brief glance and take in his words before his eyes returned to their downcast position. “Nah. Gotta finish this.”

“Oh, c’mon Daryl. Let’s at least sit for a minute until Glenn gets back.”

Rick stepped over and put hand on the hunter’s stooped shoulder, halting its movement as he dug the shovel into the ground once again. Daryl sighed in defeat and tossed his shovel down. “Fine…” he grumbled. 

Yanking off his gloves that he then shoved into his pocket, he plopped his butt down right on the grass beneath him and laid back. His arms quickly folded themselves behind his head, causing his shirt to inch up and show some of the tan belly beneath. “Don’t be surprised if he don’t come back for half an hour. Catch sight of Maggie and they’ll run off for a quickie or somethin’.” 

“Yea, yea, yea,” Rick replied with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. Sitting down right next to Daryl, he stretched his back out and rubbed at his stiff neck. He knew that Daryl could very well be right about Glenn but what Daryl didn’t know was that Rick had been anticipating something like that. He figured this was the only way he’d get Daryl alone long enough to have the conversation with him that he’d been thinking about last night. 

“So…” Rick began. “Have you...uh...have you done any more of that stuff...er...those thangs we talked with Maggie about?” Biting the inside of his cheek, he held his breath as he waited for Daryl’s response. 

Next to him, Daryl’s previously relaxed form had visibly tensed up a bit after he heard the end of Rick’s question. Pulling his hands out from under his head, his left arm wrapped around his torso while the thumb on his right hand shot directly to his mouth. 

He was taking an awful long time to answer, Rick thought. He wanted to look down at the hunter and make sure everything was okay but Rick wasn’t sure he had the nerve to look Daryl in the eye while they had this conversation. 

“Mmm...maybe…yea…” the hunter mumbled so low that Rick could barely hear him. 

“Any luck then?” Rick asked as nonchalantly as he could muster. Leaning back on his hands, he tried to look relaxed and as though he weren’t asking super intimate questions about Daryl’s sexual activities. 

“Not much,” Daryl answered as he sat up. Looking anywhere but Rick, he continued, “Can’t really find it. Guess I ain’t crookin’ my finger right or some shit…”

The hunter’s arms shrugged and he made a mocking motion with his index finger of what Maggie had shown them, clearly broadcasting some of his frustration. Rick couldn’t help but smirk and had to quickly hide it away so Daryl wouldn’t take offense. He knew he was treading on thin ice here. 

“Yea, me neither. Man, I’ve got half a mind to go to her and say she was making it all up.”

Daryl huffed out a breath of amusement at Rick’s obvious exaggeration. He started to fidget with his hands more and stretch his legs, a clear indication that he was antsy to get up and leave this conversation. Rick knew he had to act fast. 

“But...ya know, she did...uh...she did say that it was better if you had someone helping you…”

Daryl’s only reply was a grunt and a mild shrug of his shoulders. With that in mind, Rick figured he might as well just come out with it. “What if...what if we helped each other?” and he gestured from his body to Daryl’s. 

Finally turning to gauge the hunter’s reaction, Rick saw Daryl’s eyes go from his own body to Rick’s with a look of utter bewilderment. “How you mean?” he asked cautiously. 

“Uh...I mean…” and Rick huffed out a nervous laugh as he ran a hand through his sweaty curls. “I mean we could help each other...find what we’ve been looking for.”

A full minute of silence went by as both men sat next to one another. Daryl’s gaze faced out towards the prison yard and his eyes were set into a look of deep thought. Rick didn’t want to push the hunter but he had to know what the man was thinking too. “Daryl-”

“Ain’t gay, Rick.”

Daryl said his words with finality and he quickly stood up, grabbing his shovel as he went. Rick couldn’t let this be the end of their conversation. He wasn’t ready to let this go yet. “I never said you were,” he replied from his still sitting position. “We’d just be helping each other out, Daryl. We both want to experience the same thing. Why can’t we do that for each other?”

Daryl started shoveling again, perhaps with even more vigor than before. As he sank the metal edge into the ground, he managed to bite out, “‘Cause we’re two guys. Two straight guys. The hell we’d do that for?” 

As he pushed deeper, the shovel seemed to be going nowhere and Rick figured he’d must’ve hit a rock. Soon enough Daryl realized it too and he yanked the shovel out of the ground and tossed it a few feet away in frustration. 

“Can’t you jus’ go find some damn chick in there?” Daryl practically shouted as he pointed to the prison. “Pretty sure you got your pick of the litter…”

“Because I don’t want to. You know as well as I do that all the women in there are looking for something more. More than I wanna give, what I COULD give.” Rick raised his eyebrows as he emphasized his words. “It hasn’t been that long since Lori and I’ve got Carl and Judith to think of. Not to mention you, and Glenn and Maggie and the lives everyone else that we call family now. I don’t have it in me to let someone new in like that. But you…” and Rick faltered. 

He sighed and tugged at some of the grass next to him, yanking from the root and tossing the handful aside. “You’re already there, Daryl. I trust you. Hell, I probably trust you more than anyone here. And I thought you trusted me too…” 

“Nah...trust ain't got nothing to do with it, Rick. ‘Course I trust ya. Maybe I jus’ don’t want you no where near my ass.” Daryl’s words had softened, as well as the inscrutable look on his face, but his tone was still wavering. 

“Oh, c’mon Daryl.” Finally standing up, Rick brushed the back of his legs off and faced the hunter. “I think...hell, I know you’re just as curious as I am. It doesn’t have to be gay if you don’t want it to be. We can just call it...exploring. No one has to know.” 

Finishing his pitch, Rick stood there with his hands on hips, eyes squinting in the bright sun as he waited for a reply. Daryl, for his part, gnawed on his lower lip before reaching down to pick his shovel back up. “Don’t know…” he mumbled quietly. 

Rick was about to lay down some more convincing when he heard a small cheer from across the prison yard. Whipping around, he saw Glenn coming their way. Carrying water on his back, the young man brandished three small cans in his hands, flying them in the air so the sun glinted off the metal. 

Rick’s belly growled in anticipation but he knew he had to get one last plea in before Glenn’s presence put a cease to their conversation. Turning back to Daryl who stood watching Glenn’s fast approach, he whispered, “Just think about it some more. Let me know if you change your mind.”

* * *

Later that night, Rick walked around the cell block, trying to work some kind of magic that would help put Judith to sleep. She’d been fighting him for the past twenty minutes and it seemed like her stubbornness was going to win tonight. 

“Want me try?” he heard Daryl’s voice call out as he walked in from his shift on the watch tower. 

“You can give it your best shot,” Rick joked as he handed his daughter over to the hunter. Rick never would’ve pegged Daryl as having a soft spot for babies but the way he took to Judith right after she was born only solidified his bond with man even more. 

“She’s just gotta give her old man a hard time, s’all.” 

Daryl slowly walked her from one end of the cellblock to the other, giving her small little bounces and occasionally whispering things that Rick couldn’t catch from where he stood. After only a few minutes, the hunter walked back over to Rick with a snoozing baby in his arms. 

“I don’t know how you did it,” Rick muttered in disbelief. Ever so slowly, they transferred the baby from one set of arms to the other, their eyes never leaving her face to make sure she didn’t wake up. 

When Rick looked back up he caught the hunter’s gaze with his own and Daryl’s eyes seemed to be saying something. “Everything okay?”

Daryl huffed out a long sigh through his nostrils and nodded. “I...I’ll do it…” he mumbled so quietly that Rick wasn’t quite sure he heard right. 

“Do it?”

“Yea. You, me...ya know,” and then the hunter made a discrete gesture of crooking his finger. 

“Ah…” Rick said, eyes widening in understanding. “Really?” He had to physically keep his voice from going an octave higher in excitement as he asked. 

Daryl nodded and then looked around to make sure no one was nearby. “‘Morrow night.” Turning around, he started to head for his own cell before stopping and looking back. “Make sure you’re...ya know...clean and stuff…”

Rick couldn’t help it when a small laugh bubbled up and spilled from his mouth. “Are you really telling ME to take a shower?” Daryl had the worst reputation in the prison for not bathing and sometimes Carol would threaten to withhold food if he didn’t go clean up. So Daryl’s comment not only sounded completely bizarre coming from his mouth but also absolutely hysterical. 

Daryl must’ve realized how ridiculous he sounded but he took offense all the same and gave Rick the finger before finally walking away. Shaking his head as he made his way to his cell, Rick couldn’t help but think how strange this day had been but he liked the outcome all the same.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've read some smutty Rickyl goodness lately and got the itch to do some writing. Instead of investing time into a new story, I decided to finally finish this one. Sorry it took so long and I hope you like it!

Rick spent the next day going from one task to the next, trying to keep his mind and hands busy. But no matter how many times he fed and changed Judith, trudged up more dirt in the garden, or stabbed a walker's head through the fence, his brain kept going right back to what him and Daryl had planned for that night. 

It certainly didn’t help that the hunter was practically by his side all day long either. Every time Rick glanced his way, he would find a set of eyes cast upon him peeking through strands of shaggy brown hair. Their eyes would lock momentarily and Daryl’s face would flush a light pink before he cut his eyes back to whatever task was at hand. 

In those little moments, Rick knew they were both thinking about the exact same thing and his heart would do a little flop in his chest. If he didn’t know any better, Rick would say he was feeling nervous. Almost like he had the first night he’d taken Lori out on a date all those years ago. Except with Lori he didn’t get lucky until weeks later and tonight Rick knew what was coming. 

At dinner that night, everyone was gathered around their respective tables chattering away about the nice load of food Glenn and Tyreese had managed to bring back from a supply run this morning. It was enough cans to last them at least two weeks which put everyone in a great mood. 

The only one who couldn’t bring himself to be that talkative was Rick, who had managed to scarf down his plate in record time. Bouncing Judith on his knee at slightly faster rate than normal, he looked around the room and bit his lip in a silent plea for this day to be over with. His plans for the night had him feeling more than eager. 

“You okay, Rick?” a small voice called out to him from his left. Whipping his head around, he found Beth’s kind face looking at him with concern. 

“Hmm? Oh, yea. I’m fine.”

Beth’s big blue eyes looked a little inquisitive at his short response. He gave her the smallest half smile he could manage in his over-anxious state, hoping to give her some reassurance. “Are you sure? You look a little...restless.” 

“Yea, man. You sure? Lookin’ a bit cagey tonight,” a low voice chimed in as a broad shouldered figure hunkered down next Rick at his table. 

Daryl’s eyes almost looked mischievous as Rick gave him the once over. He’d been wondering where the hunter had been during dinner but now the answer was obvious. Daryl’s hair was totally wet and combed back flat against his head. The faint scent of soap wafted across the few inches that separated them. 

Seeing the effort that Daryl was clearly trying to make and that they were indeed going to go through with tonight, Rick felt the same need to go get squeaky clean for the hunter. “Don’t worry. I’m good,” Rick said not only to Beth but to Daryl as well. “It’s just been a _long_ day,” and he put extra emphasis on the word long, widening his eyes slightly in Daryl’s direction. 

He saw the smallest form a smirk quirk up at the corner of the hunter’s mouth. Daryl rested his elbows on the table and rubbed his hands together in front of his face before looking away, that pink flush working its way across his tan skin once again. 

“Well...okay. If you say so. Do you still want me to take Judith tonight?” Beth’s little voice called out. 

“Yes, I do. In fact, would you mind taking her now? I’ve been digging out in the garden all day and I could really do with a shower. That okay?” Rick asked, standing up and walking around to where Beth sat before she could even respond. 

“Of course it is. I love my nights with Judith.” And in no time at all, Judith was resting on Beth’s petite legs and already reaching for her braid. “Nuh uh, Judy. I told you my hair’s not a toy,” Beth chuckled before flinging her hair behind her back. “Don’t worry, Rick. I got her.”

Beth flashed him one of her sweet smiles and Rick knew his daughter was in good hands. After thanking the young blonde twice, Rick cleared his place from the table and started walking towards the cellblock. Looking back once, he caught Daryl watching him from the corner of his eye and Rick’s heart did that weird little flop again.

* * *

 

After Rick cut the water off, he ran a towel over his body until he’d pulled away every last water droplet he could. He debated on putting his original clothes back on but then decided against it. He’d sweated in those all day and the idea of a clean outfit for Daryl seemed much more ideal. 

Wrapping the towel around his waist and tucking it in, he ran his hands through the damp ringlets atop his head, trying his best to smooth them back. He gathered his clothes under his arm and peeked out the doorway to make sure he didn’t run into anybody as he made his way to his cell. 

Figuring that the coast was clear, he double timed it through the cellblock. As he walked, he wondered if he should go to Daryl’s cell or if would Daryl come to his own. His question was answered though when he pulled his blanket back and stepped into his space only find Daryl standing against the far wall. 

The hunter was leaned back, his legs crossed at the ankles while his back lay flat against the cement brick behind him. His hair had dried a little and started to fall down around his face like it always did. 

As the hunter’s eyes landed on him, Rick froze in place. He hadn’t expected to have company right away and his eyebrows had raised a good half inch upon finding the man currently occupying his quarters. “Oh...uh...hey…”

“Hey,” Daryl huffed out in what sounded like vague amusement. 

 


	6. Chapter 6

This is definitely happening. RIck gulped down the massive amount of nerves that bubbled up inside him. Finding Daryl waiting for him in his cell hadn’t been exactly what he was expecting but it wasn’t that surprising either. When Daryl decided to do something, he did it. 

Tossing his old clothes from the shower into the corner, Rick grabbed his comb and gave it a few swipes through his hair to try and tame back some of the wet curls falling down his forehead. “Didn’t expect you to be waiting…” he mumbled out. 

Daryl took a moment for shrugging and pushing his broad body off the wall behind him. He stepped past Rick, curving around him with an inch or two of space between their bodies, and stood at the end of Rick’s cot. Rick could tell he was having an inner debate on if he should sit or not before sighing and finally perching himself just on the edge. 

“Got antsy, I guess,” the hunter replied. He rubbed his palms against his denim-clad knees and looked up at Rick. Then his eyes slowly trailed downward and Rick remembered that he was just standing there in nothing but a towel. 

There was definitely no point in getting dressed now but Rick couldn’t help feeling a little exposed, fighting the urge cover his chest with his arms. Then he realized how utterly ridiculous he was being and almost rolled his eyes at himself. Not only had him and Daryl changed in front of each other countless times before but they were here to do an explicitly sexual act together. Daryl was literally going to be putting a finger in his ass. And Rick was hoping he was going to like it. 

Sucking in a deep breath, Rick balled up his courage and pulled his towel away. The damp terrycloth dropped to the floor and he stood there naked as could be. He knew he was flushed a bright pink from his nose to his toes and only a second later Daryl’s face turned a matching shade of crimson. 

The hunter’s gaze lingered on Rick’s cock for a moment before he cut his eyes to the floor and scooted further back on the bed. Looking down, Rick realized he was already half hard and he chuckled inwardly at how even though his mind was vaguely questioning everything, his body definitely knew what it wanted. 

“Guess I’ll go first?” Rick asked, his tone unsure. He turned and sat down on the cot next to Daryl, but made sure to leave a healthy foot of space between them. He didn’t want to crowd the hunter and Daryl already looked halfway ready to bolt.

Daryl nodded slowly in answer to Rick’s question, unconsciously bringing his right thumb up to rest between his teeth. “Might as well,” he said over the digit. “Already down to nothin’ anyways.” Rick felt, more than saw, the hunter’s eyes gleam over his bare form before looking away again. 

“Did you…” and Rick nodded over to the other man, gesturing to Daryl’s fully dressed self. He was wearing his usual ripped up shirt and dark denim jeans but it felt a stark contrast to Rick’s naked body. Rick was wondering if he’d feel a little less naked if Daryl was just as undressed as him. 

“Nah...leave ‘em on, for now. If that s’alright?”

Daryl’s eyes were peeking over at Rick’s face, a brief look of vulnerability that Rick would have to be an idiot not to see. “Oh, that’s fine,” Rick nodded, trying his best to reassure the man next to him. His mind was already onto the next step anyways. “So...uh...how do we...how should we do this, then?” 

Daryl dropped his hand from his mouth and looked at the space between them, then at the thin little mattress they both sat on. “Mmm...lay down,” and Daryl nodded towards the other end of the bed. 

Rick wasn’t really sure if it was question or command but he listened all the same. Scooting back, he turned and eased down until his back was flush with the scratchy green blanket that he used to cover up with at night. He wasn’t sure what to do with his legs since Daryl’s frame took up the lower third of the cot, so he laid one bent leg down and kept the other one off the side of the bed with his foot planted on the floor. 

He felt Daryl shift and when he looked up he saw the hunter turning his body towards him, his gaze focused on Rick’s still half-erect cock. His dick gave an uncontrollable twitch of interest and Daryl huffed out an amused breath. “Excited?”

Rick’s face burned bright red and he laughed nervously. “Maybe...more nervous than anything.” He’d rested his hands on his chest and now he drummed his fingers anxiously. 

“You and me both,” Daryl quietly admitted. He was now seated fully facing Rick’s sprawled out form and he slowly reached a shaky hand out. Rick felt the warm touch of the hunter’s rough hand brush along his calf and he realized that Daryl was urging him to open his legs up. 

Straightening his bent leg, he moved it so it now lay between Daryl and the wall of his cellblock, leaving the other leg hanging off the edge of the bed. Daryl moved closer and Rick could feel the hunter’s knees brush along his inner thighs. Before anything went further, Daryl reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small bottle filled with yellow liquid. 

“You need a drink to do this?” Rick asked, almost offended and unable to hide the annoyance in his voice. 

“Pfffttt. Nah,” Daryl chuckled. He was definitely amused at Rick’s indignation. “Swiped this from the kitchen.” And then he brandished the label towards Rick. Squinting slightly, Rick could see that it was a small bottle of olive oil. 

“Oh…” he replied, reigning in his outrage once he realized what that was for. “Carol’s gonna kick your ass when she finds out” 

The hunter actually laughed at that, one of his rare smiles that never failed to warm Rick’s heart. “Oh yea? You gonna tell her?” 

“Mmm hmm,” Rick nodded, licking his lips that had suddenly dried in the moment that Daryl opened the bottle and poured a generous amount of oil on the first two fingers of his right hand. 

“Really?” Daryl asked quietly. Sitting the olive oil on the floor by Rick’s foot, he came back up and gently rested his left hand on Rick’s thigh. The warmth of the hunter’s palm felt like fire on Rick’s skin and his heart jumped inside his chest. “What’ll you say?”

“Uh…” Rick choked out, his adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he tried to think of a response. “Something like ‘Hey Carol. Daryl stole your olive oil.’” 

Daryl snorted, playfulness on the edge of his voice. “That it?”

At the end of the question, Rick felt the brush of Daryl’s oiled fingers between his legs, spreading his cheeks open. If Rick was nervous before, now he was downright panicky, trying to keep his breathing at a steady, normal pace. But he had a feeling that Daryl was trying to keep him talking, to ease away the awkwardness and relax him. 

“Not like I can say-ay…” and Rick couldn’t help the way his voice choked as he felt the tip of Daryl’s finger at his hole. Glancing down, he saw Daryl’s eyes focused on what was in front of him, an intense look on his face. He felt the same finger circle his puckered entrance, spreading the slickness all around. “Can’t say that you took it for this, now could I?” 

“Dunno,” was all that Daryl said before he decided to push one finger past that tight little ring of muscle. Rick almost gasped at the intrusion, his own fingers curling into fists. It’s not like it was a foreign feeling, he’d been doing this to himself for days, but to have someone else do it to him was like a whole different sensation. 

“S’okay?” he heard Daryl ask and Rick realized he’d squeezed his eyes shut. Opening them up, he saw the hunter looking down at him, concern etched around his eyes. 

“I’m okay. Keep going.” 

At Rick’s reassurance, Daryl pulled his finger back out and slid it back in. A couple more thrusts and Rick started to relax, his breath evening out and his legs falling open a little wider. Sensing Rick’s ease, Daryl changed his movements and quirked his finger upwards, clearly in search of something.

After a few moments of curious prodding, Rick offered, “Deeper, maybe?” 

Biting his lip, Daryl gave a brief nod and pushed his finger further. Instead of only being about three-quarters of the way in, Rick felt the other man’s knuckles press into his skin as the finger sank all the way into his tight heat. 

Rick’s own hand had never made it this far and while it wasn’t mind blowing, it still felt better than he thought it would. His cock certainly thought so too as it got just a bit harder. But it still wasn’t feeling like how Maggie had described it. “Man, maybe Maggie was just making it UH-” and Rick’s head shot up as he felt a weird sensation from below. 

Daryl eyed him with intrigue, like he’d found something interesting inside of Rick. The hunter licked his lips and moved his hand again, pressing up softly inside of Rick. “Oh…” Rick mumbled curiously. Even though the pressure was coming from beneath him, he felt a pulse of pleasure in his dick and it was a strange yet incredible sensation. 

“That it?” Daryl asked and pressed on it again. 

“Ohhh...uh...yep, think that’s it,” Rick huffed out and his whole face flushed red when he noticed that his cock had gotten fully hard, jutting straight up from his hips. “Wha-what’s it feel like?”

“Like you got a chestnut tucked inside your ass.” Daryl chuckled and Rick’s face split into a grin even though he rolled his eyes. He was about to throw a smartass comment back at the hunter but he felt Daryl press on that special spot again, and then twice more in quick succession and he couldn’t help the brief little  _ Mmmm _ that slipped past his lips. “S’good?”

Rick nodded and licked his lips, looking down to meet Daryl’s gaze. “Y-yea…”

Having found the spot that they’d been so keen to locate, Daryl started to experiment with different movements and speeds. He started with slow, gentle thrusts and then switched to a circular, rubbing motion. After that he started to press with more force, and increased his rhythm too. 

“Fuck…” Rick hissed out and he ran both his hands through his hair as he tried to hold back the little moans that were threatening to fall from his lips. 

He hadn’t expected it to feel this good. Wave after wave of pleasure ran through him and he hadn’t even touched his dick yet. He hadn’t come but he knew that this was building towards something fucking amazing. 

“Touch yourself…”

Hearing Daryl’s words, Rick didn’t need to be told twice and grabbed his aching cock in his hand and started to stroke. The hunter’s ministrations had made him produce a steady amount of pre-come that'd dripped down the shaft and Rick spread it out as he pulled from the base to the tip. He knew it wasn’t going to take much to get him to finish. “Daryl…”

Hearing his name fall from Rick’s lips, Daryl’s hand on Rick’s thigh gripped a little harder, almost bearing down, and then he started to really thrust his finger. He was practically pounding into him now, not even giving a second between pulling out and plunging back in. 

“Oh, god…” Rick gasped. He was right on the edge and Daryl was just about to push him over while he pulled at his cock. “Yea, yea, yea. Right there, right there. I’m gonna...I’m gonna…”

It hit him like a bolt of lightning. His body contorted and his muscles pulled tight, bowing his back up off the bed as he dug his head into the mattress beneath him. “Fuck!” he growled out while his cock spurted white, sticky come onto his hand and stomach. 

It was one of the most intense orgasms Rick had ever had. It felt like it kept coming on and on, pleasure pulsing from his center and branching out to all of his extremities. Even though he’d stopped jerking his cock, Daryl’s finger was still massaging him slowly, coaxing out every ounce of bliss that it could. 

When he finally slowed and stilled, Rick was breathing heavy, all his muscles completely slack and a fine sheen of sweat covering his flushed skin. When he glanced down, he noticed the self-satisfied smirk that Daryl was wearing but Rick didn’t even have the energy to try and form a coherent, let alone sarcastic, comment on that. 

Instead, he went with, “That was...that was…” and he realized he didn’t have proper words to describe it. 

“Looked like you enjoyed it.” Daryl’s tone was lighthearted as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a rag. He quietly wiped his fingers clean and offered it to Rick, carefully averting his gaze from the sticky mess that he’d help contribute to. 

Rick grabbed the rag and wiped himself up slowly. He wasn’t sure he’d ever shot a load this big but he’d keep that thought to himself for now. “I did. I REALLY did,” Rick emphasized because, holy hell, did he ever. Maggie really wasn’t lying and he felt like he needed to go hug her right now. But first, “Now it’s your turn.”


	7. Chapter 7

Rick couldn’t tell if Daryl was more nervous or embarrassed as he laid out on the cot, maybe it was a healthy amount of both. The hunter had taken a long minute to yank his boots off and slowly drop his pants. Rick patiently waited and tried to not watch him too closely. But his eyes couldn’t miss the full sized erection the sprouted from Daryl’s hips. 

Daryl almost seemed like he wanted to hide it, trying to casually cross his wrists in front of him before sitting down. He left his shirt on but Rick wasn’t surprised by that. Daryl had always been a little self-conscious about the scars on his back and Rick would never begrudge him for that. 

They’d swap places and now Daryl was the one lying back on the bed, spreading his legs on either side of Rick. He tried to yank his shirt tail down to cover his stiff cock that bobbed in the air above, and again Rick wasn’t sure if it was more from nerves or if he was embarrassed about being at full mast without even being touched. 

The thought that maybe he was hard because he’d just caused Rick to completely fall apart sent a small little thrill up Rick’s spine. But whatever pleasure he took from that, he tried to keep contained because he worried that even a small smile might make Daryl rethink this whole thing. 

Rick picked up the small bottle of oil at his foot and started to coat his fingers with what was left. Daryl had used about half of the bottle’s contents on Rick, so Rick felt he probably needed the same amount. Glancing up, he saw that Daryl wasn’t even looking at him. He’d thrown one arm over his head and was staring at the cellblock wall next to him. His leg hanging off the side of the bed was anxiously jiggling away, making the cot beneath them vibrate. 

Tossing the empty bottle away, Rick took his non-oiled hand and rested it on Daryl’s fidgeting thigh, ceasing the movement. The touch prompted Daryl to look his way and Rick had to ask, “You okay?”

Daryl nodded briefly, a quick  _ Mmm Hmm _ fleeing his lips before he started to gnaw on a thumbnail. But Rick caught the brief flash of emotions flit across the hunter’s eyes, a mix of fear and apprehension. “Are you sure? ‘Cause you know we don’t have to-”

“M’fine, Rick! Jesus, would you jus’ put a damn finger in my ass already…” Daryl grumbled and he huffed out a huge sigh of frustration. Rick couldn’t help it when he started to laugh and the hunter only rolled his eyes. 

“Alright, alright,” Rick conceded and he rubbed the oil around on his fingers while looking down and taking in the sight before him. Daryl’s legs were mildly hairy and lighter in color than the rest of him since Rick was sure that skin almost never saw the light of day. His thighs were as thick as tree trunks though, so muscular, and they led up to meet at the curvature of his ass, a dark crevice hiding where Rick’s finger would soon be. 

Rick couldn’t help but look at Daryl’s package too. The hunter’s hard cock had slipped out from under Daryl’s shirt and while it wasn’t incredibly long, the girth was definitely more than what Rick had to offer. His sack was full and round and covered with a sandy colored pubic hair. All in all, Rick had to say that he appreciated the view from this angle. 

As he lowered his oiled hand, Rick felt like he had to break the tension a little as he brushed his fingers along Daryl’s ass. “Who knew you’d be so bossy in the bedroom.”

“Yea, yea, yea…” Daryl grumbled, and then he took in a sharp breath when he felt the tip of Rick’s finger circling him. “Can’t let ya be in charge all the time,” he choked out. 

Rick smiled at that while he let his finger explore a little. The heat coming from Daryl was amazing, he felt almost ten degrees warmer and Rick hadn’t even pushed inside of him yet. The tip of his pointer finger grazed along the hunter’s rim, pressing around the muscle to see how much give it had. Daryl slowly exhaled and Rick actually felt the tight little pucker relax a little. 

Taking the chance, he inched his finger forward and he slipped right in, up to the first knuckle. The oil made things glide a lot smoother than he thought it would and he pulled out and sank his finger back in, going just a little further in. A stifled groan came from above and Rick looked up to see that Daryl had thrown an arm over his eyes, his lower lip caught between his teeth. 

“Keep going?” Rick asked and Daryl nodded quickly. 

At the reassurance, Rick continued, pulling his finger out and back in until he the entire digit was sheathed in Daryl’s warmth. He couldn’t believe how snug and soft Daryl felt just on his finger and his mind couldn’t help but wonder how something like this would feel on his dick. Looking down, he noticed the thought alone was already making him half hard again.  

He rotated his hand in a few different directions while he thrusted, until he finally turned his wrist upward and curved his finger. He pushed in and up, searching for that special spot. “How deep is it?” he asked after a few attempts. 

Daryl, who’d been mostly quiet as Rick worked, shrugged awkwardly since his arm was still covering his face. “Not real deep,” the hunter mumbled, sounding a little unsure. 

Rick wondered if maybe his pointer finger was a little too short to reach Daryl’s prostate, so he pulled it out, causing Daryl to lift his arm and peak out curiously. “Don’t worry. Not going anywhere,” Rick chuckled as he switched to his middle finger that he’d oiled earlier. 

The second finger slid right in and he curled it upwards, thrusting deeper than before. Right away, he felt something different. Similar to what Daryl had said before. A small rounded spot was tucked away in between all the soft tissue surrounding his finger, like he had a little chestnut under the skin. Rick pressed gently on it and the effect was immediate.

Daryl’s breathing changed and a low growl emanated from his lips. Not only that, but Daryl’s cock twitched in the air, the rounded head growing a shade darker. Rick’s lip curled into a sly smile. Now he was ready to have some fun. 

Slowly, he started to prod the little magic spot he’d found. He noticed Daryl’s breathing had started to quicken, his chest rapidly expanding and falling. After seeing the effect the slow and steady pace had, he changed it up and used the pad of his finger to rub circles into the little nub. 

Daryl practically whimpered and his body involuntarily reacted by curling inward, lifting off the cot just a fraction before he forced himself back down. Rick liked that. He also liked how Daryl’s cock had started to leak pre-come, at first just a drop or two sliding down the shaft but it soon turned to a line dripping onto Daryl’s stomach. 

If he could do this to Daryl with just one finger, Rick wondered what would happen if he used two. Pulling the middle finger out to just the tip, he lined up his index finger next to it and slowly pushed both in. 

“Rick…” Daryl gasped, whipping his arm off his face to grip the wall next to him, his other hand white-knuckling the edge of the bed. 

“No?” Rick asked with a raised eyebrow. He didn’t want to push the hunter and while it was definitely a tighter fit with two fingers, he wasn’t meeting as much resistance as he thought he might. He’d managed to get to the second knuckle before he started to pull back out, twisting his hand a little to tease Daryl’s hole and open him up more. 

“Mmm…” Daryl bit his lip and closed his eyes briefly before stuttering, “S’alright”

With his okay, Rick pushed both fingers back in and went straight for Daryl’s prostate, getting a much better angle this way. Now Rick was relentless, thrusting his hand at a steady pace, the quicker he went the more Daryl started to fall apart. 

“Fuck...Rick…” The hunter was trying so hard to hold back, little moans and grunts escaping his mouth every few seconds. “Shit…” His nails were scraping at the wall, back arching while his eyes squeezed shut. His mouth had fallen open, panting breath after breath. 

If Rick didn’t know any better, he’d think the hunter was close to coming. His cock certainly looked like it couldn’t get any harder and it was practically weeping milky white fluid, a small puddle forming below Daryl’s belly button. Switching movements, Rick went from hurried thrusting to massaging circles, working his arm around to really get into it. 

The change jolted the hunter and his body did that uncontrollable jerk inwards again. His eyes sprang open and he was met with Rick’s determined face. “Fuck! Rick! Shit, shit, shit,” Daryl was babbling and his cock twitched. “Oh, shit. Wait, wait…”

But Daryl’s reaction only encouraged Rick to push harder, rubbing his fingers in a tight, fast little circle. And only a moment later Daryl’s cock jerked in the air and started to spurt lines of come across Daryl’s stomach and shirt. “Fuck...fuck...fuck…” Daryl moaned, his head tossed back while his hips jerked hard. Even his legs started to shake a little. 

Rick kept rubbing him through it, realizing that he’d just gotten Daryl to come without even touching his cock. He loved how with every rub or nudge, he’d make Daryl’s cock spill some more, almost like he was milking the pleasure out of him. Daryl’s moans soon turned to whimpers and he fell back against the bed, wrenching his hands in his hair. “Fuck, Rick...stop…”

Hearing Daryl’s words and how the tone of his voice had changed halted Rick’s movements. Listening closely, he heard Daryl give a small sniff and he realized something wasn’t right. “Daryl, you okay?” He slid his fingers out slowly and leaned forward, putting a hand on Daryl’s elbow. 

Daryl jerked his arm away and quickly wiped at his face. Sitting up, their eyes met briefly and Rick could see the hunter’s eyes had welled up. Daryl cut his gaze away, looking down, and he locked on to Rick’s lower half. Looking down too, Rick saw that he was fully hard again and hadn’t even realized it. He must’ve liked making Daryl fall to pieces more than he thought. 

He was trying to think of something to say about that but before he could come up with any words, Daryl jumped up and grabbed his pants. “Daryl,” Rick started but the hunter started to yank one leg on, turning away from Rick. 

Rick stood up too, reaching out to touch Daryl’s shoulder. “Hey, c’mon. Talk to me.” 

Daryl pulled his shoulder away and tugged the other leg on, sliding his pants up. Walking around Daryl’s body so that he was face to face with the hunter, Rick grabbed him by the shoulders and looked into his eyes. “Daryl, what happened? What’s wrong?” 

Daryl’s face was too hard to read. He shook his head while he buttoned his pants before pulling away from Rick’s grasp. “Gotta go,” he mumbled quietly before heading for the doorway to Rick’s cell. 

“What?!” Rick asked, bewildered. “What do you mean? Did I do something wrong?” But his questions were left unanswered. Without a glance back, Daryl grabbed his boots and practically ran out. 


	8. Chapter 8

Days went by and Daryl refused to talk to him. He wouldn’t even stay in the same room as Rick. If Rick sat down at the table for dinner, Daryl would automatically get up and walk away. If Rick came to help at the fenceline, Daryl would throw his pole down and say he was going to check the traps. He wasn’t even in his cell at night when Rick would walk by hoping to catch him alone, so Rick had no clue where the hunter was sleeping. 

But four days of this went by and Rick was just about going crazy. He had no idea what happened to make Daryl act this way. He thought the hunter had liked what they did. But Daryl’s watery eyes and cold demeanor at the end of their activities said otherwise. Which really sent a blow to Rick’s gut. Because that meant they weren’t going to do it again. And Rick had liked,  _ really _ liked it. 

But if it was something that caused Daryl to hurt, then Rick would certainly never do it again. As long as he still got to keep what they had before. Their close friendship had been one the best things Rick had at the prison and now Daryl wouldn’t even look at him. 

And Rick wasn’t the only one to notice. When Daryl had walked out at breakfast this morning, Carol eyed Rick suspiciously and asked him about it when he brought her empty plates. He tried to act clueless about it but he could tell that Carol was a bit too savvy to buy into his bullshit. She didn’t bother to push the subject though. 

By lunchtime, he was at a loss for what to do. Maybe he needed a second opinion. While he was digging around in the garden beds, he saw Maggie across the yard hanging laundry on the line. He figured now was as good a time as any and since Maggie was the one who’d kind of started this whole thing, maybe she could give him some insight. 

“Hey, Maggie,” Rick said, starting the conversation casually as he walked up. 

“Hey, Rick,” she smiled friendly. She bent down and pulled out a sheet to hang and Rick leaned over to help her, grabbing one end and throwing it over the line. “Everything okay?”

“Well…” and Rick ran a hand through his hair while he tried to think of a way to say this. “Something happened...with me and Daryl.”

Maggie’s brow knitted together in confusion. “What?”

“Uh...so we…” and Rick took a deep breath, “we did some stuff...some thangs...to each other…”

“What stuff?”

“The stuff...the stuff you told us about…” and Rick brought his hand up, gesturing with curved fingers the way she’d shown them the first time. 

Maggie gasped and quickly covered her mouth, her eyes blown wide with shock. She turned away and buried her face into the sheet they’d just hung on the line, a muffled yell vibrating from her throat and into the air. When she pulled away, her face was flushed pink and she was smiling. “Oh my god! Rick! Why are you telling me this?!” and she lightly smacked his shoulder. 

“Well, now he won’t talk to me.” Rick sighed and rested his hands on his hips. 

“Won’t talk to you? Why?” 

“I’m not sure. We did...the stuff...and it was great,” Rick raised his eyebrows to emphasize this fact and Maggie busted out laughing. When she regained her composure, Rick continued. “I went first, and then him, and after he was done, he practically ran out.”

“Hmm…” Maggie hummed. She tapped the side of her mouth with a finger while looking off in the distance, thinking. “Maybe he didn’t like it? But you said he finished, right?”

“Yea, he did. And I mean-” Rick leaned in close, not wanting to shout this all out into the open for just anyone to hear, “Maggie, he didn’t even have to touch his dick. He came with just the fingers.”

“Whoa!” Maggie’s eyebrows practically shot off her forehead, she raised them so high. “So he finished, said thanks, and left?”

“Well…he may have...cried. Just a little.”

“He cried?!?” and Maggie slapped his shoulder again. “What’d you do to him Rick?!”

“Hey! I didn’t do anything that he didn’t do to me. He looked like he was really into it. He was coming and moaning and his legs were shaking, and then before I knew it he was sniffling and told me to stop. He wasn’t like weeping, but his eyes were wet. I asked if he was okay and that’s when he acted really cold and bolted for the door. I mean, I don’t know what I did wrong but crying, that’s not normal, right?”

“Well…” and Maggie shrugged her shoulders, tilting her head to the side. “It can happen. If it’s really powerful and hits you just right. Definitely not unheard of. Maybe that’s what happened to Daryl.”

“Maybe,” Rick shrugged. “But I can’t even get him to talk to me. We don’t ever have to do it again if he doesn’t want to, I just don’t want to lose Daryl completely.”

“But you definitely want to do it again, right?” and Maggie smiled knowingly. 

“God, yes!” Rick almost yelled and they both started laughing. “But only with Daryl. I don’t think I’d be able to do it with anyone else. Don’t know if I trust anyone like I do Daryl. Not with something like that.”

Maggie nodded and tucked some hair behind her ear. “Bet it was a shocker realizing that you liked kissing up on Daryl Dixon.”

“We actually didn’t do any kissing…” Rick admitted with a bit of a shamed face. 

Now Maggie started smacking his whole upper body and shouting at him. “Rick Grimes! What kind of a gentleman are you? Going at it with someone and not even kissing them?!?!” 

He brushed her hands away and tried to look innocent. “Hey! It’s not like he tried to kiss me either! It was kind of an agreement to just try this thing out…call it exploring. See if it was all you made it out to be.” 

“Well, if you really plan on doing it again then I suggest you fix that part of the arrangement,” she said pointedly, giving him the evil eye. “And you better talk to him soon. Think he said he wants to go on a long run tomorrow morning. Might be gone a few days.” 

Rick nodded in agreement. Maybe it was a bad call that they hadn’t kissed. If they had, it might’ve set the tone a little better and made for a more intimate moment. Daryl might not have run away afterwards either. 

“I think he’s on watch tonight,” Maggie piped up, breaking into his thoughts. “Might be a good time to get him alone.” 

“Yea,” Rick agreed. “That might be good.” 

Parting ways with a hug, Rick thanked her for listening and he headed back to his garden patch. Digging into the dark soil, he started to plan out the things he wanted to say to Daryl that night.

* * *

 

Dinnertime rolled around and Rick sat with everyone at the table, eating their meals over small amounts of chatter. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Daryl slink into the room and grab a bowl for himself. Carol walked over and said a few things to him, nodding towards the group, but it looked like he brushed her off by the way she rolled her eyes. He made for the exit with his dinner in hand and Rick figured he must be heading out to take over watch from Glenn. 

He waited about an hour and with some bribing, he managed to get Carl to watch Judith until her bedtime. After double checking that no one needed him, Rick headed for the prison doors and slipped out into the night air. It was mildly chilly and Rick blew into his hands to keep them warm as he walked over to the watchtower. 

He took the steps two at a time and opened the door, finding Daryl perched in a corner, rifle slung over his back while he lit a cigarette. At the sight of Rick, Daryl audibly sighed, looking about ten different kinds of irritated. 

Rick closed the door behind him and faced Daryl, hands on his hips as he prepared himself for the hunter’s obstinance. “Hey,” he started. 

“Yea?” Daryl replied, his voice clearly annoyed. He turned away and looked out across the prison yard. 

“Look, I know you don’t wanna talk, but we have to. I can’t take this, Daryl.” 

“Take what?” and Daryl looked back at him. 

“This,” Rick gestured between their bodies. “The distance. You not saying anything to me. Walking out of the room when I walk into it. What the hell is going on? What happened that night, Daryl? Did I...did I hurt you? ‘Cause if I did-”

“Didn’t hurt me,” Daryl mumbled. He took a drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke out of the side of his mouth. “M’fine.” 

“Well...something happened. If I did something wrong, I’m sorry. I thought...I thought we were both liking it. If you didn’t, that’s okay. We don’t ever have to do it again. Just please don’t do this. Don’t shut me out. It’s...it’s killing me, Daryl…” Rick felt like he was practically begging but if that’s what it took, then that’s what he was willing to do. 

Daryl had turned away while Rick spoke and a tense minute went by where he didn’t say anything. Rick wondered if he should just leave, but he wasn’t ready to give in yet. So he stood there and waited. Daryl took a final drag on his cigarette before putting it out. Adjusting the rifle on his shoulder, the hunter quietly admitted, “I did like it.”

“What?” Rick had to be sure he heard right. 

Sighing deeply, Daryl said louder, “I said I liked it.”

“But then why-”

“Man, I don’t know, Rick. It was jus’ different.” Daryl had turned around by the end of his sentence, facing Rick with an expression of frustration. 

“Different?” Rick raised his eyebrows, pushing the hunter to elaborate. 

“Yea. I ain’t ever come without touching my dick before. Didn’t know how to feel. Think I got kinda freaked out. So I jus' left.” 

Daryl shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his feet. “Okay,” Rick nodded, starting to put things together a bit. “And the...the crying? Which I’m not judging you for, by the way. Maggie said that can happen sometimes.”

“Ya talked to Maggie ‘bout this?!” Daryl whipped his head up and locked angry eyes on Rick. 

“Hey, you haven’t talked to me in days. I needed to ask someone what to do!” 

“Pffttt,” Daryl rolled his eyes and sighed yet again. “Wasn’t crying...just made my eyes water, s’all. Guess it was...intense.”

“Good intense?” Daryl gave him the most exasperated look Rick had ever seen on the hunter’s face. Sensing that things had started to smooth over, Rick walked over and leaned against the wall next to where Daryl was standing. “I’m just asking. You know, for science.” 

With that, the hunter finally managed to crack a smile and Rick felt about a million times better about things just by seeing that. “Yea, yea, yea. It was good, alright. Almost too good. Didn't know how to handle it, 'specially with ya sitting there, already getting hard again.” 

“Alright,” Rick replied, a small smile playing at his own lips. “Just so you know...I really liked it. Not just…you doing it to me. I liked doing it to you too. Probably why I was ready to go again after you finished. It was different, like you said, but good different. I meant what I said though, if you don’t want to do it again, we don’t have to. We can just go back to regular Rick and Daryl. No butt stuff.” 

Daryl chuckled standing next to him, a pink flush working its way up his neck. “Shut up,” he mumbled, nudging Rick’s arm with his shoulder. 

“Hey, I mean it. Just normal Rick and Daryl activities. Killing walkers, going on runs, fighting over who holds Judith. No getting naked together, no oiled fingers in tight holes, no moaning and groaning, no leg shaking orgasms.” Rick bit his lip as he realized just talking about it was getting him half hard. He wondered if it was doing the same to Daryl. 

The hunter snorted in amusement, looking away while scratching at his neck. Then looking back at Rick out of the corner of his eye, he whispered, “But what if I liked that stuff?”

“Hmm…” Rick nodded and he rubbed at his chin in a mock-style of deep thinking. “Then I guess we’ll just have to keep doing it then. Every day, if we have to!”

Daryl’s face split into a wide grin then and he started laughing. Rick laughed right along with him. “Yea? Every day, huh? Something tells me you probably couldn’t take it, Officer.” 

“Oh, I’m willing to test that theory, Dixon,” Rick countered. “But uh...first, I think I want to do something else…” 

“What?” Daryl asked curiously. Instead of answering though, Rick slipped his right hand into Daryl’s left and slowly leaned in. He stopped a few inches from Daryl’s face, his intentions clear. He wanted to be sure Daryl wanted the same thing. 

He felt Daryl’s breath ghost across his lips, the hunter glancing from Rick’s eyes down to his mouth. Then finally he closed the distance for them, their lips softly brushing against one another. Rick pushed forward, deepening the kiss, Daryl’s strong mouth molding to his in the best way imaginable. 

Darting his tongue out, he teased the hunter’s lips open and Daryl’s tongue was quick to meet his own. All Rick could think was _why haven't we done this sooner_? 

Pulling away to catch his breath, he pressed his forehead against Daryl’s and smiled like an idiot. “This mean you’ll forget about going on that run in the morning?”

“Mmm...maybe,” Daryl mumbled before planting another kiss on him. “Or maybe you could come with me…”

“Hmm…” Rick wondered at the possibility. Thoughts of working in the garden and doing all the other prison chores flashed through his mind. But then the idea of spending time alone with Daryl, doing all sorts of things, floated past his vision and he realized that life was precious and good times were so few and far between now. This was one opportunity he just couldn’t say no to. “Meet you by the truck at dawn?”

Daryl nodded and then their lips met again, hands tangling in each other’s hair while the fronts of their bodies pressed together. Rick wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to sleep tonight in his eagerness for tomorrow. 

Soon they broke apart so Daryl could get back to his watch, and Rick walked down the tower steps feeling much better than he had walking up. As he made his way towards the prison, he heard Daryl call out to him. 

Turning around, he found the hunter standing at the railing looking down at him. “Swing by the kitchen and see if you can sneak another bottle out,” and he gave Rick a wink. 

Rick laughed and nodded, giving a wave of acknowledgement. “Think we might need more than one!” he hollered back, walking off with a grin when he heard Daryl chuckling from above. Heading back into the prison, Rick wondered how many bottles of olive oil Carol had stashed away and just how many he could possibly fit into pockets. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's done! Hope you enjoyed! :-D

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr! Come say hi! http://walkingfanao3.tumblr.com/


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